Opera Australia is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its national touring program with a new production of Bizet’s Carmen by director Matthew Barclay, that will embark on what’s been dubbed a “mega-tour” around Australia from May through to August.

Over the 25 years Opera Australia has presented more than 655 fully-staged performances in 117 different locations, and covered more than 305,000kms.

Opening at the Drum Theatre in Dandenong on 14 May, the traveling troupe of 32 people including cast, crew, and a chamber orchestra will stop at more than 40 cities and towns across Australia and play to around 30,000 people.

Traditionally the national tour alternates each year between the northern and southern states, however with the cancellation of last year’s tour due to the coronavirus, this 25^th anniversary tour will be a combination of both, travelling from Hobart and Warrnambool in the south to Darwin and Katherine in the north, the Gold Coast in the east and Margaret River in the west and more than 30 other places in between.

Opera Australia’s Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini firmly believes that opera resonates just as strongly with audiences outside the major cities.